--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We’re talking about people, not common…" description: "\"“We’re talking about people, not common denominators.”\" — Haruki Murakami" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg" --- # We’re talking about people, not common denominators. ![“We’re talking about people, not common denominators.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg) > ““We’re talking about people, not common denominators.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are unique individuals, not reducible to statistical averages. **In simple terms:** Treat people as individuals, not numbers. Key Takeaway Value personal stories over data. Themes individuality humanity statistics Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team building - education - customer service - policy making Key Concepts existentialism humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on individuals change decision making? - When is it appropriate to use averages? A Different Perspective Statistical analysis can still be useful for broad trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common denominator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-denominator/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [People are the common denominator of progress; no improvement is possible with unimproved people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/people-are-the-common-denominator-of-progress-no-improvement-is/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Talking to other people about a part is not helpful for me. It's such an internal and complicated and still kind of mysterious process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/talking-to-other-people-about-a-part-is-not-helpful-for-me-it-s-such/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/talking-with-most-people-usually-involves-a-search-for-truth-talking/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [I'm so done talking too many people on here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazzy/i-m-so-done-talking-too-many-people-on-here/) [Jazzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazzy/) > [My accent gets more pronounced when I've been talking to people from Derry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-downey/my-accent-gets-more-pronounced-when-i-ve-been-talking-to-people-from/) [Roma Downey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-downey/) > [It's good to find common ground with people. When you find common ground and you see things from other people's perspective, you can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-osteen/it-s-good-to-find-common-ground-with-people-when-you-find-common/) [Victoria Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-osteen/) > [Everywhere I go, I see all kinds of people at my shows - conservatives, liberals, new-agers, teen-agers, old pensioners. And for those people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlo-guthrie/everywhere-i-go-i-see-all-kinds-of-people-at-my-shows-conservatives/) [Arlo Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlo-guthrie/) > [All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Love, respect, and friendship do unite a people as well as a common hatred does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/love-respect-and-friendship-do-unite-a-people-as-well-as-a-common/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I think all it really takes for different people to get along is a common rooting interest and a few beers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-think-all-it-really-takes-for-different-people-to-get-along-is-a/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Love, friendship and respect do not unite people as much as common hatred for something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/love-friendship-and-respect-do-not-unite-people-as-much-as-common/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [When aristocrats pretend they're common people -- they get common!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/when-aristocrats-pretend-they-re-common-people-they-get-common/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [We define family in many different ways: not just by blood but by people with whom we find a common ground and a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/we-define-family-in-many-different-ways-not-just-by-blood-but-by/) [Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/) > [“The point all these people had in common was how little freedom they seemed to enjoy. They were grappling with their beliefs, and these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-gounelle/the-point-all-these-people-had-in-common-was-how-little-freedom-they/) Laurent Gounelle > [“People, common people especially, usually seemed more comfortable with the familiar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-royal/people-common-people-especially-usually-seemed-more-comfortable-with/) Lauren Royal ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Common denominator quotes > [“Yet the flip side of the coin was all the positive literature about radium. As early as 1914, specialists knew that radium could deposit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-moore/yet-the-flip-side-of-the-coin-was-all-the-positive-literature-about/) [Kate Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-moore/) > [Even if it's just a little thing, something like a song, there's still that sort of common language, that common denominator that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-carpignano/even-if-it-s-just-a-little-thing-something-like-a-song-there-s-still/) [Jonas Carpignano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-carpignano/) > [“Der kleinste gemeinsame Nenner ist ein Klumpen Dreck, an den sich alle klammern müssen. // The lowest common denominator is a piece of dirt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/der-kleinste-gemeinsame-nenner-ist-ein-klumpen-dreck-an-den-sich-alle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As long as our culture continues to fawn over its downward-aspiring lowest common denominators, the United States will remain a social and political punch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-beal/as-long-as-our-culture-continues-to-fawn-over-its-downward-aspiring/) [Anthony Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-beal/) > [The common denominator is that we all need help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-smith/the-common-denominator-is-that-we-all-need-help/) [Judah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-smith/) > [A lot of times, women complain about men around them. It's not always someone else's fault. If you're the common denominator in 57 different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrine-steffans/a-lot-of-times-women-complain-about-men-around-them-it-s-not-always/) [Karrine Steffans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrine-steffans/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Actually I'm more culturally Muslim than religiously but being Muslim is an important part of my identity. As Muslim, I feel it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aasif-mandvi/actually-i-m-more-culturally-muslim-than-religiously-but-being-muslim/) [Aasif Mandvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aasif-mandvi/) > [There is something powerful in the whispering of obscenities, about those in power. There's something delightful about it, something naughty, secretive, forbidden, thrilling. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-something-powerful-in-the-whispering-of-obscenities-about/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We have almost succeeded in leveling all human activities to the common denominator of securing the necessities of life and providing for their abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/we-have-almost-succeeded-in-leveling-all-human-activities-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Yeah, I think the common denominator - and this is probably going to sound like Acting 101 - but the common denominator is belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-elfman/yeah-i-think-the-common-denominator-and-this-is-probably-going-to/) [Jenna Elfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-elfman/) > [“Time and suffering are inseperable. In life, as in physics, both are the common denominator of all experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dutton/time-and-suffering-are-inseperable-in-life-as-in-physics-both-are-the/) [Christopher Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dutton/) > [Most of the time people are aiming so low on television. They're trying to reach that common denominator, especially on network television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-mcdermott/most-of-the-time-people-are-aiming-so-low-on-television-they-re/) [Dylan McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-mcdermott/) > [Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/photography-appears-to-be-an-easy-activity-in-fact-it-is-a-varied-and/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [People are the common denominator of progress. So... no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/people-are-the-common-denominator-of-progress-so-no-improvement-is/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Browse all 295 Common denominator quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-denominator/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We’re talking about people, not common denominators.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-denominators/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common denominator" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-denominators/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/haruki-murakami-21_common-denominator_we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-de_816474.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We’re talking about people, not common denominators.” — Haruki Murakami", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We’re talking about people, not common...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-denominators/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/we-re-talking-about-people-not-common-denominators/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```